An exhibition dedicated to the late Dutch furniture designer Martin Visser has recently opened at Maastricht’s Bonnefanten museum. Titled Martin Visser – collector, designer, free spirit, the show focuses on Visser’s significance for visual art, design and architecture in the Netherlands. On view until 17 June 2012, the exhibition showcases over a hundred paintings, sculptures, photographs and various works on paper from Visser’s extensive art collection, number of works in situ originally developed for Visser’s Bergeijk home in 60s and 70s, as well as eight furniture designs created by Visser such as the iconic 1958 sofa bed BR 02.

Martin Visser and Wim Beeren, with work by Sol LeWitt and Christo; photo by Claude Magelhaes

More about the exhibition:

‘Martin Visser, collector, designer, free spirit focuses on the legacy of the renowned furniture designer and driving force behind the Visser collection. The exhibition starts with a number of Visser’s classic furniture designs and goes on to give an impression of his unique house in Bergeijk, through an architectural model by Steven van den Berg and recent interior photos taken by Johannes Schwartz.

‘The rest of the exhibition is devoted to over a hundred paintings, sculptures, installations, photographic works and drawings from the private Visser collection. Over the course of thirty years, Martin and his first wife Mia and brother Geertjan Visser acquired many works by now established names of the neo-avant-garde, at an early stage of their career, including Piero Manzoni, Christo, Ellsworth Kelly, Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Bruce Nauman, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, Sol LeWitt, Richard Long, Daniel Buren, Marcel Broodthaers, Hanne Darboven and Panamarenko.’